Mouse Trap Car Designs for Distance Speed Instructions

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Mouse trap car is a vehicle that is small and the only source of motive power is a mouse trap. Usually, this mouse trap car is used in physical science class to help students to form their problem solving skills, learn to budget time, develop spatial awareness and practice cooperative behavior.

Mouse trap is built to travel as far as possible. With the appropriate approach, it is possible to streamline the design of your car for maximum distance by using only home mousetrap car materials.

To adapt a mousetrap car for distance you have to optimize your wheels at first. To do that, follow the instructions below.

First, you need to use bigger rear wheels. Big wheels have the bigger rotational inertia than small wheels. When they begin rolling they are harder to stop rolling. So, for maximum distance, you need to make the wheels on the drive axle very large. The front wheel is not really important . It can be big or small. But, if you want a classic drag racer look, you probably wish a big wheels in the back and smaller ones in front. To make it, it is as easy as 5 gallon mouse trap because you just need to use the materials that are available in your house.

Second, you have to use thin and light wheels. Thinner wheels have less friction and can go farther. So,you can use old CDs or DVDs for this. A plumbing washer can be used to reduce the pit size in the middle of the CD. In case you have access to old vinyl cords, those also work well even though they may be too heavy for the smallest mousetrap. If you want to know how to build a mousetrap car for distance step by step, you can read another article in this site. Here, we will only describe the adaptation that you can do for distance by optimizing the wheels.

Third, you need to use a narrow rear axle. If your rear axle is skinny, the mousetrap car can turn it more times for the same length of string than it would if it were wider. So, it is better if you make your axle out of the skinniest material available which can still support the weight of the frame and wheels.You can narrow wooden dowel rods. In case you own access to thin metal rods, it is better.

Fourth, make traction by giving the edges of the wheels friction. If the wheels slip against the ground when the trap is sprung, energy is wasted. If it occurs with your car, you can add a friction inducing material to the rear wheels to reduce their slippage. To keep your weight requirements down, you are able to use only as much as is necessary to give the tips of the wheels some grip and no extra. Some of the materials that you can use are rubber bands, electrical tape, popped balloon rubber, and additionally, putting a piece of sandpaper under the rear wheels at the start line can reduce slippage when the car starts to move. Well, that’s all the steps how to build a mousetrap car with cd wheels. Hopefully you can follow the instructions well and good luck.